'Dexter' Review: "Do the Wrong Thing"

‘Dexter’ season 7 cuts loose its sixth episode of the season, as Dexter finds himself on the trail of Hannah McKay, perhaps getting closer than he should, as Deb accepts a date from a connected author, Batista debates retiring, and Quinn reluctantly agrees to break bad.

Last week’s ‘Dexter’ episode “Swim Deep” saw Dexter fending off a vengeful Isaak Sirko, while Deb attempted to throw LaGuerta off the trail of her brother, and Quinn found himself falling into some old habits. So how does “Do the Wrong Thing” play with the new status quo?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘Dexter’ season 7 episode 6, “Do the Wrong Thing”!

While reading Sal Price’s book on the Wayne Randall murders, Dexter observes Hannah McKay at a distance and converses with an apprehensive Harry how the evidence points to Hannah being a good opportunity for a kill. Unsure how to get her to confess to killing her late husband, however, Dexter retreats in search of a peace offering.

After showing up late to a briefing on the DA's intent to get Isaak Sirko out of prison, Dexter decides to forge the blood reports from Hannah’s murder in the interest of assuaging her, though Harry remains uncertain. Elsewhere in prison, Isaak fends off a Colombian thug looking to settle the score, and places a call to George to come visit him immediately.

Dexter pays a visit to Hannah to apologize and show her the blood report, noting that she has a habit of poisoning rabbits that eat her flowers. While attempting to dig into conversation about her late husband, dead from a heart attack, Dexter enlists Hannah’s advice on a flower for his apartment. While Hannah deflects most of the gloom and doom talk, Dexter does manage to gleam that Hannah inherited the nursery from its previous owner, who also died of a heart attack.

Dexter’s research reveals that Hannah might have poisoned both her husband and the nursery’s previous owner Beverly, when suddenly he notices author Sal Price walking through the station with Deb. Dexter stops the man downstairs in the guise of a fan, and learns that Price plans on updating his book to reflect his suspicions about Hannah taking part in the murders. It seems a halfway house owner once accused of molesting Hannah wound up poisoned as well, confirming Dexter’s suspicions.

Back upstairs, Price asks Deb out on Dexter’s encouragement, though the Lieutenant doesn’t feel she’s in the right mental space to be dating. Elsewhere, Nadia finds Quinn’s bribe in his car and urges that he give it back rather than fall into old habits. Convinced, Quinn returns the money to George at the club and declares that he can’t be bought.

While Dexter searches through Price’s home and makes copies of all the author’s files on Hannah McKay, Batista shares lunch with Jamie. The grizzled detective puts forth that he has thoughts toward retiring and even buying the restaurant around them, but Jamie reminds him he often makes impulsive decisions that get him into trouble.

George visits Isaak in prison, as the incarcerated mob boss demands that his associate find some way to get him out of prison, particularly now that Quinn seems to have rejected the bribe. George then lures Quinn to dinner under the guise of meeting Nadia, and presses on his former associate that any number of bad things could befall his stripper lady love if the blood evidence against Sirko doesn’t disappear. Reluctantly, Quinn re-accepts the bribe.

While Deb shares another meeting with LaGuerta and learns of her new theory regarding the Bay Harbor Butcher being involved with the Jordan Chase disappearances and barrel girl murders, Dexter sits at home searching through Price’s work. Dexter learns that Beverly Grey’s body tested positive for a flower poison called aconite, which grew on the property, when who but Hannah herself should knock on his door? The woman offers a more suitable, blood-spatter like plant for his apartment, and the two nearly share a tender moment before Deb’s call interrupts.

Over at Deb’s, Dexter shoots down any notion that LaGuerta could trace either Jordan or Lumen back to him, while Deb remains incredulous that he invited the woman into his home in the first place so soon after Rita’s death. Dexter presses his sister to let him worry about LaGuerta while she goes out and lives her own life, to which she throws him out of the house.

Dexter pays another visit to Hannah’s property to make smalltalk with the long-time handyman, who reveals that Hannah was rather private and emotionless with regard to Beverly’s illness and death. Dexter searches through the property, finding the aconite, when Hannah herself again interrupts him. The two share coffee inside until she asks him to cut the crap, and Dexter finds his only move to invite her out on a date, thereby getting her alone. Dexter preys on her previous fixation for an attraction called Santa’s Holiday Adventure, and she reluctantly accepts the date.

Still unable to reach Nadia, Quinn brushes off Batista’s notions of retiring, which Deb ends up overhearing. Sitting Batista down in private, she realizes that she supports whatever dream the man might have, and resolves to get a life of her own by accepting Sal Price’s offer for drinks. Afterward, Quinn skulks into the evidence locker and pockets the crucial blood evidence in Isaak Sirko’s trial.

Out on her date, Deb flirtatiously gets Sal Price to admit Hannah McKay as the topic of his next book, even agreeing to show her a bit of the evidence. Sal shows the crime scene photographs from the recent dig, on which Dexter (fraudulently) signed off, but that his own blood spatter analyst realized indicated a female killer. And you thought Deb was pissed before.

Dexter takes Hannah to the abandoned site of Santa’s Holiday Adventure, and the two sneak into the romantic, wintery wonderland under the big top. Just as Hannah seems at peace, Dexter injects her neck and she awakens wrapped to the table. Dexter spouts off about killing her as a means to fill his own emptiness, though Hannah doesn’t seem at all fazed or scared. About to plunge the knife, Dexter swerves at the last moment and cuts her free of the wrappings, and the two get it on right there on the kill table!

Not that we couldn't have seen that coming, but darn if it doesn't feel new and exciting for Dexter to have a female playmate, one seemingly on his level. As the midpoint of the season, "Do the Wrong Thing" could suffer from a bit of a lull, with Isaak temporarily in jail and the relationship between Dexter and Deb on ice, but the episode gives us a nice transition into the back half of the season. If anything, we're definitely excited to see if Hannah can figure into the series on a bit more long-term basis. Quinn, on the other hand...

What about you? Did you get your fill of darkly dangerous ‘Dexter’ drama? What did you think about the episode? Join us next week for another all-new ‘Dexter’ episode recap of “Chemistry” on Showtime!